Residents question benefits of Brookfield parks projects

Published 10:58 pm, Thursday, October 21, 2010

BROOKFIELD -- Residents told First Selectman Bill Davidson this week that they would need more tangible proof of how investing more than $5 million in the town's parks would be beneficial to them.

Davidson is asking Brookfield for $7.1 million (the net cost to the town would be $5.3 million) to completely renovate Cadigan Park, Town Beach and Kids' Kingdom and to build a two-mile greenway along the Still River.

"I would like to see a detailed cost/benefit analysis for each one," resident Ernie Nepomuceno said. "This would incur additional maintenance costs that would be in the budget year in and year out."

More Information

Parks project fast facts
A complete plan for the new Kids' Kingdom is available on the town website
The plan would add significant parking at Cadigan Park
Renovations would double the size of the beach at Town Beach
Brookfield has already allocated and raised in grants a little more than $1 million for the Still River Greenway

"How do you measure a safe playground against a closed playground?" Davidson responded. "How do I measure benefits of someone learning to ride a bike on a safe road?"

David Proper suggested Davidson consult Realty experts to show how much the improved parks would add to the value of Brookfield homes.

"Town Beach is an attraction," Proper said. "People buy houses to have access to it."

But the seawall at the beach is crumbling so much, Proper said, and he fears any time a visiting swim team has a meet against the Muskrats, the local swim team, because if the seawall collapses on them, the town would face major lawsuits.

Some people questioned putting a synthetic field in Cadigan Park because of the expense and the possible safety hazards.

Davidson said synthetic field technology has improved in the last 10 years and Parks & Recreation Director Dennis DiPinto added that no studies have been able to prove that synthetic fields emit toxic fumes.

The synthetic field would allow for 30 percent more playtime because it does not need any maintenance, DiPinto said. The town is short on fields, and with the likelihood of the soccer field in the cornfields giving way to development in a couple of years, the extra playtime is critical, DiPinto said.

"The amount of play those fields get and the amount of rain we get, a natural field won't last," said Kevin Maden, president of the Lacrosse Club.

Resident Dale Corbin said he needed assurance the projects would be done on budget and on time, since Brookfield is notorious for not meeting both standards. After DiPinto told him the Municipal Building Committee would be overseeing the projects, Corbin did not seem assuaged. Davidson added that as long as he was first selectman, he would be personally accountable for the projects.

Another resident questioned how long construction on all the projects would take.

DiPinto estimated a 13-month range, but said it would take about a year-and-a-half to get all the required permitting for the Still River Greenway.

Davidson added that an official in the Department of Transportation is eager to see the greenway built because of the lack of trails in western Connecticut. The DOT official was the one who helped secure a $425,000 grant for the project, Davidson added.